While perusing the mayhem and chaos of this year's San Diego Comic Con 2001, I stumbled across a booth tucked away in the corner of the convention. What caught my eye about that booth was an anime-style poster image of a gruff, cloaked "hero" of some sort, infused with metallic gauntlets, posed next to a well-endowed "waitress" of some sort. Upon closer inspection, the style was even more engaging as it fused Japanese anime and manga influences with American sensibilities, along with a unique flair all to itself.

That booth was Studio XD, and that comic was LAST SHOT: FIRST DRAW.

Written by Ken Siu-Chong / Locke, with stunning pencils and inks by Long Vo, LAST SHOT: FIRST DRAW represents one of the pioneers for a new breed of "manga." Only this time, it comes from America. Featuring an addictive blend of stylish anime influences in what seems like COWBOY BEBOP crossed with TRIGUN, as well as John Woo-style, over-the-top action sequences, and a dash of some SD (Super-Deformed) humor from time-to-time, LAST SHOT looks to be a winner.

Upon first glance, you might think that it's "just another Image Comic," something that looks like a Jim Lee-clone, but nothing could be further from the truth. The visuals are a solid blend of Long Vo's unique style, with Charles Park's colors and effects (some great—not gratuitous—use of CG-style motion blurs and other effects), and Kidkoun "Saka" Visarutvanit's final graphical touches. These all help LAST SHOT more than stand on its own in today's crowded comics field.

The story starts off in a dusty Western town, and we get introduced to the main protagonist, Revolver: a huge, hulking bounty hunter who's collecting bodies from a bounty. It then cuts to a saloon, and Ami the voluptuous waitress from the front cover is introduced. Suffice to say that Long, Charles and Saka haven't forgotten their anime "fan service," but it's all in good fun. From here, stories of a vicious group of outlaws called The Steeds and their leader, Shindle, are laid out, and the action just picks up from there.

Overall, what makes this series such great fun is the stylish blend of anime, manga, Hong Kong blood operas and Studio XD's own ideas into one big "showdown," and it's in full, vibrant color, too. They even have some great "outtakes" at the end of the book, where a previous key scene is recreated, except with some "bloopers" instead. How cool is that? While not deep or philosophical, what you do get is a great, entertaining story, with wonderful visuals to boot. If you're looking for a new series to pick up, give LAST SHOT a try. It's easily one of the best comic series to debut this year.